Initiated Amendments to Law on Broadcasting Threaten Freedom of Media and Expression, SJC Warns

The Social Justice Center (SJC), a Georgian human rights watchdog, issued a scathing assessment of draft laws on broadcasting and the removal of “gender” from legislation initiated by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, raising alarm about threats to freedom of expression, media independence, and equality rights. The SJC’s analysis emphasized that the proposed legislative changes, with their “vague provisions,” could be weaponized by the GD government to suppress crucial media and dissenting voices.

Content Restrictions and ComCom’s Expanded Powers

The draft law on broadcasting introduces detailed content regulations for broadcasters, requiring factual accuracy, fairness, respect for privacy and balanced political coverage, according to the justification for the bill. The organization said, however, that the bill introduces several “vague provisions” that pose a serious threat to broadcasters’ editorial independence and freedom of expression.

While many of these rules echo existing norms from the Broadcasting Code of Conduct, the bill transfers enforcement powers from broadcasters’ self-regulatory bodies to the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC).

The GNCC, a state agency, would gain the ability to issue warnings, fines, and even revoke broadcast licenses in response to complaints from any party. The SJC cited another report by watchdog TI-Georgia, which has previously documented concerns about the GNCC’s pro-government bias, particularly its targeting of critical, opposition-leaning television stations with sanctions ahead of the disputed 2024 parliamentary elections.

The SJC also recalled the recent resolution of the European Parliament on Georgia, which included the chairman of the GNCC, Kakha Bekauri, among the persons recommended for sanctions due to their role in supporting “the repressive state apparatus of the country.”

“These regulatory tools could be weaponized to suppress independent media and stifle dissenting voices,” the SJC warned.

The organization argued that the proposed amendments resemble Hungary’s controversial media law, which was criticized by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe. The latter objected to the law’s vague provisions requiring “balanced” media coverage. According to the SJC, the Commission argued that “such obligations impose excessively complex requirements on the media and lack sufficient precision, making them potential tools for suppressing freedom of speech.” The Georgian draft law’s provisions prohibiting broadcasters from expressing opinions on politics, public issues and conflicts also mirror the problematic approach of the Hungarian law and raise serious media freedom concerns, according to the SJC.

Georgian Dream has cited the UK Broadcasting Code as a model, but the SJC argue the comparison is misleading. The UK code’s principle of “due impartiality” is context-dependent and does not mandate equal airtime for all perspectives. It requires broadcasters to present a “sufficiently broad range of significant views” on controversial political or industrial issues, but it does not mandate “balance” in each individual program. In contrast, the Georgian bill imposes rigid requirements for balance within each program and bans journalists from expressing personal opinions.

In addition, “the UK Broadcasting Code prohibits the distortion of facts and opinions, says the watchdog, but “as for the prohibition of “misrepresenting a different opinion,” which is included in the bill initiated by the ruling party, there is no such vague provision in the UK Broadcasting Code.”

Foreign Funding Ban for Broadcasters

The second proposed bill prohibits television and radio broadcasters from receiving direct or indirect foreign funding, except for commercial advertising, teleshopping, sponsorship or product placement. The ban extends to purchasing services from broadcasters and co-funding program production or broadcasting.

“The blanket ban on foreign funding for media broadcasters constitutes an unjustified restriction on freedom of association and expression under international human rights law,” the SJC stated. It stressed that foreign funding could have served as a lifeline for critical media amid intensified government pressure and scarce financial resources.

These restrictions, according to SJC, “clearly demonstrates the ruling Georgian Dream party’s attempt to weaken and suppress critical media outlets, which expose the dire situation in the country and the widespread human rights violations.”

Removal of Gender Concept

The third proposed draft bill envisages removing the terms “gender,” “gender identity,” and “gender diversity,” from the broadcasting law. The CSJ says the amendments effectively make it permissible for TV and radio broadcasters to “distribute material that incites hatred based on gender and gender affiliation.” As argued by SJC, omitting “gender” from the legislation would imply that the Public Broadcaster will no longer be required to reflect gender diversity in its programming.

Authoritarian Rule is Tightening, SCJ Warns

The watchdog concluded that the legislative package represents a coordinated effort to crush Georgia’s remaining spaces of freedom and cement ruling party control over public discourse. “One example of such a space in Georgia is critical media outlets, which, despite numerous obstacles, expose crimes committed by the government, large-scale repressions and grave violations of human rights,” the SJC said. GD government’s efforts for consolidating control over critical media, “eliminate the last remaining spaces of freedom in the country, further consolidating its authoritarian power.”

Also Read:

• 25/02/2025 – GD Moves to Ban Foreign Funding of Broadcasters, Give Sweeping Powers to Communications Commission to Regulate Content
• 23/10/2023 – SJC: Amendments to Broadcasting Law Severely Harm the Freedom of Expression

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